What is the proper way to dispose of the resin containers in the US?
- Allow leftover resin in the container to fully cure by exposing to uv light through whichever means. From there you can recycle or dispose of the containers.
Can you leave leftover resin in the vat for use later?
- As long as the liquid resin in the vat isn't exposed to too much sunlight, glare, or heat, it will be fine for a few days. Depending on the resin it could last a week. If you have left liquid resin sitting in the vat for a bit, make sure to mix it up well and take out any cured residue that could be present in the resin
What are the types of resins and how are they different?
- Depending on the resin's formula, it can have different properties. Some (Dental, Castable, Precision) are formulated for those who need less than 1% shrinkage for an accurate print. Others (Hard, Hard&Tough, High Temp) can be used for more functional purposes due to their better properties in rigidity, elongation, and heat deflection respectively. Though you can use any resin for any purpose, no matter it's intended purpose, it's best to always go for the resin that works for you.
Do low temperatures harm the resin?
- As long as it warmed up a bit before actual use of the resin, you'll be good to go. Storing resin in cold areas is fine, but printing with cold resin is not. We recommend a temperature range of 25°C - 30°C for resin when it's being used for printing.
How long will parts printed with resin last?
- It depends on the properties of the resin, and it's stability. In general, all parts are more susceptible to UV light and will deteriorate faster when exposed to it. Water-washable resins are more susceptible to rapid deterioration in high moisture environments. Stable resins such as our Hard and Hard & Tough will last longer in direct sunlight than less stable resins such as Rapid, Water-washable, or dental models.
The bottom layers of my print stick out compared to the rest of it
- This is resin expansion caused by overcuring the bottom layers to adhere to the platform. This is a consequence of MSLA printers, but can be eliminated by printing on a raft with supports, or using a resin that holds precision better.
How toxic are resins once fully cured? Are they oral safe? What about the fumes?
- Most resins will be non-toxic once fully cleaned and cured (meaning 100% cleaned and cured with no missed spots). Unfortunately the technology is still new and we can't guarantee anything is truly safe for oral use. The safest bet, is to not take any risk. When operating the printer we recommend nitrile gloves and a respirator. Getting resin on you, or breathing in fumes can be harmful and damaging.
Can SLA/DLP resins be used with our printers?
- Yes! So long as they are formulated to react to 405nm UV light, they should work. You'll need to do some work with dialing in your settings though, which may prove to be the barrier for use.
Do you have a list for resin settings or properties?
- We have both! You can find these under the support tab on our website.
Where can I find a sample file that I can print as a first try?
- We have some on our website. Just look under the support tab.
Can I mix resins?
- Yes! Resins can be mixed and matched for you to achieve your desired properties with it. Unfortunately we don't have much in the way of testing with 3rd party resins, but we have a large facebook group that is a very helpful community and I'm willing to bet someone's already tested out the combo you're thinking of. EPAX User Group
When I try to print, nothing shows up on the build plate. (Maybe you get some cured bits in the vat, but not of the print.)
- You should start by checking the LCD display with the Calibration option on the touchscreen menu. Perform this test without the vat in place and it should show a rectangle. There should not be any holes, gaps, or dark spots in the rectangle.
How do I get rid of Islanding? (The layer lines can kind of look like a topographic map)
- An unfortunate consequence of resin 3D printing. These lines are essentially caused by voxels being printed. Easiest fix to do this is to turn on Anti-Aliasing in the advanced settings tab in your slicer. There are third-party tools out there however that can do a bit more, with a bit more of a learning curve such as UV tools.
Can I improve the surface quality of my models? They do not look like the ones I see online.
- Surface quality can be improved. It is mainly related to the post curing process in which you remove your excess resins. You are likely not getting off all of the excess in your IPA rinse before the piece begins to cure.
Is it possible to not have support marks?
- Unfortunately, support marks are going to happen if you use supports. You can minimize them though by trying different tip styles in your support settings. You may also try different orientations to cut down on the amount of supports for that model.
I’m getting a horizontal line across all of my prints at the same point of every print.
- This is likely due to pressure and resin shrinkage during the printing process. Reduce your exposure time and increase your lift distance to about 8mm, then reduce your lift speed and this will help minimize the effects of shrinkage.
